While 1/35 scale seems standard in armor modeling, I always end up drawn to 1/72. It's a pain to manipulate the small parts, and a bear on the eyes but I have been building only Dragon, Ace, and Trumpeter 1/72 kits for quite some time now. I have some 1/35 kits in my stash but have not built one for quite a while. I keep thinking I must be crazy to submit myself to the abuse one goes through building a 1/72 kit, but never seem to want to switch. Why?

Well my answer is quite simply, space.

In the same amount of room it takes to display/store a 1/35 scale kit I can display 6 1/72 scale kits. I also have a stash of 1/35 but with space being very limited for me I choise to go down the route of Braille scale.

With the likes of Dragon, Trumpeter, ACE and RoG to name a few we have now got some very good kits that in some cases make the 1/35 scale kits look under detailed.

On my workbench at the moment I have got PzIII ROG, PzI Italeri, M13/40 Italeri, Sd.Kfz.251 Dragon, M6 Italeri, KV-85 PST and a PzIVJ RoG. All are very nice kits the M13/40 is showing signs of its age (ex Esci) but still builds into a nice M13/40 with a little bit of work, same comment for the PzI.

There is one thing lacking in 1/72 though and that is figures not the bendy plastic type but the same type as the kits.

Ciao
Luciano

I would say space too!
I actually have the space to build 1/48th or 1/35th, but as Luciano said, you can have 5-6 1/72nd for each 1/35th scale kit. Another important point (again space), is that when building dioramas, it's not a problem having 2-3 vehicles or more in the same diorama.

Another issue is that I started out building 1/72nd scale.

I've been trying 1/35th scale (tanks and figures), but keeps coming back to 1/72nd scale. I do like to paint 1/35th scale figures, but the armor, has to be 1/72th scale.

These days (like the late 80's), we have lots of interesting kits coming out each year, and if you want to build something a bit more exotic, there's always the resin manufacturers.

No need to go 1/35th scale to build a FAMO with sd.anh. 116 or a M984 Oshkosh "Wrecker".

regards,
Steen

Space and cost. For the price of the latest 1/35 uber kit, you can have 3, 4 maybe 5 of the latest 1/72 scale kits. I went back to 1/72 scale kits after travelling frequently. 1/35 scale kits were too fragile to travel with, but I could always travel with a 1/72 scale armor kit tucked into the modeling toolbox.

Space! And time too. I find I do spend less time on a braille kit typically due to the amount of parts.

I tend to do less detail because of what a "normal" eye can see from a reasonable viewing distance.

I wish my eyes were still normal. Need new glasses now I've passed 40 and my braille building may switch to 1/48 if the new glasses don't help

Happy Holidays!

Michael

I'm trying to imagine how I would build such a small scale as 1/72. I can barely see some of the parts and details on my 1/35 kits now?!

Gary

For me, its what I started modeling and space and cost are the other main reasons why I model in Braille Scale. Also, I'm a model railroader and model that in 1/87th scale. The only disadvantage is the selection of models and figures.
Ch

Ever since there's this enormous selection of fine 1/72 kits, it's a really attractive alternative to 1/35. The cost, the space and the time are very important factors when choosing a kit. Since I love all kinds of AFVs, and sometimes I like to build many different versions of the same type, it would take forever (and cost a lot) to build all these in 1/35. There are a select few that I get "big", and all those Tigers, Shermans, etc are built in 1/72. At least this way I get to build them. (Even if you can afford to buy all the kits you want, they'd still be collecting dust in your closet.)
Not to mention you can put them together with your aircraft kits
(I never knew helicopters and airplanes were so big compared to tanks...)

For me, it's a change of pace thing. I don't do them often, but keep a small stash of 1/72 kits on-hand for those times when I need a break from the 500+ piece kits.

- Frank

Space, cost and variety!

I've got aircraft, armor, and ships all in the same scale, and I can fit them all in a reasonable amount of shelf space.

I'm also increasingly impressed at the variety of modern armor available. I just picked up two Russian SAM launchers.

In no particular order

1) Cost. Typically 10-40% of a comparable 1/35 kit

2) Quality. New tool models from the likes of Dragon and Revell are simply outstanding models. The Revell Cromwell is one of my all time favourite kits, any subject, any scale

3) Ease of assembly. Fewer parts go together quicker. Smaller parts paint quicker. And you can get away with a bit of artistic license as well

4) Better choice for my intrests. As I don't do WW2 german stuff on priniciple, 90% of the latest uber-kits are outside my area of intrest. Modelers of British/Commonwealth subjects are most definately not catered for like their spoon-fed german brethren. In 1/72 virtually everything used by the Allies is available at a reasonable cost. 1/72 resin kits might go for £10-15, in 1/35 they would be £60-80.

5) Figures. Thanks to the likes of Milicast and especially AB Figures, a *much* wider range of British figures is available in 1.72/76 than in 1/35, most of them in very interesting poses.

6) Box size. Several 1/72 boxes can be hidden in one 1/35 box, thus fooling the missus as to the real size of your stash!

At the moment the simple answer is sapce but also the recent quality of kits coming from Dragon and Trumpeter. I have just done both their IS-3M, Trumpeter, and T-34 Model 1940, Dragon, which were both excellent. I have also just picked up Dragon's Firefly Vc, which again has all the detail of a 1/35 kit. When they are doing this their is no quation. Agiain, like Neil, my interests are Allied and Soviet so the range coming are far better than in 1/35, IMHO. However, there are a few 1/35 kits that i intend to get, the Comet, Char B and M2, but if the quality stays like this Braille will do fine in the main for me I think.

Ross

I prefer to build in 1/35 for my armor (I take it you are just talking about 1/72 armor kits) but I do build 1/72 scale kits of vehicles I am mildly interested in. Right now I am finishing up a 1/35 M4A3 Sherman and a Strv-103B kit. But I am also working on a Revell 1/72 M3A2 Bradley. I am interested in the Bradley but not enough to do one in 1/35. Most of my 1/72 armor is that way.
Eric

I think it depends. I mainly build 1/35 light armor, e.g. Pz I, II, 38(t), T-26, BT5, Hotchkiss, etc.

space and cost dictate that i mode in 1/72 scale,and most importantly swmbo :-)8 allows me an occasional splurge on kits and i can justify 1/72 but not 1/25th

Because my first choice, 1/48 armor, is just getting too rediculously expensive; costing almost as much as 1/35 scale kits in some instances.

and because the detail on the latest braille scale kits is pretty amazing

I won't give up entirely on 1/48 armor, but its going to be primarily 1/72 for me for the time being.

We can only hope Trumpeter/DML gets into the 1/48...